Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I have been remiss in plugging the annual Shreve Migration Sensation, which will be held this Saturday, March 28. Ground zero is the small but charming Wayne County community of Shreve, where, incidentally, my mother hails from.

This is a fantastic birding event, and a wonderful example of birding ecotourism. Every year, hundreds of birders descend on Wayne County to enjoy the festival, look for birds, eat good Amish food, socialize, and hear a variety of programs. Last year, I think there were something like 700-800 attendees. The vast wetlands of Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area are but minutes away from the school in Shreve where the talks are given and vendors are headquartered, so it's an easy matter to go birding, retreat for a program or two, and go back out birding.

And the birding is great. Probably every species of regularly occurring waterfowl will be found, many in big numbers. I won't be surprised if a rarity such as Eurasian Wigeon is found, too. There'll be other early migrants too, including yellowlegs, Tree Swallows, Wilson's Snipe, and a variety of raptors.

This year, the speaker roster is capped by legendary Kenn Kaufman, and you won't want to miss that. And all this for the lofty admission price of $10.00. That's right, ten smackers. Can't beat that. Be there or be square!

Peak spring bird migration event includes self-guided tours with experts located at Help Stations in the nearby Killbuck Marsh, Shreve Lake, Brown's Lake Bog and Funk Bottoms wildlife areas. Killbuck is Ohio's largest inland natural wetland complex, covering 5,512 acres. Professional workshops, birding, wildlife and wetland vendor displays, pancake breakfast and lunch concessions, as well as children?s programs are held in the Shreve Elementary School.

A $10.00 admission ($15.00 per family) includes any or all events and workshops. Registration will open at 7:00 a.m. at the Shreve Elementary School with FREE MAPS to the Help Stations (located in the marsh and at three other sites, all near Shreve). The Birder's Market Place opens at 8:00 a.m.

The Shreve Spring Migration Sensation is sponsored by the ODNR Division of Wildlife; Friends of the Killbuck Marsh, Inc.; The Wilderness Center; Greater Mohican Audubon Society; Triway Local Schools; Shreve Library and Shreve Business & Community Association.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST (7:00 - 10:00 a.m.), sponsored by Shreve School Relay for Life, and LUNCH, catered by Des Dutch Essenhaus, are available in the school cafeteria, located on the lower level. Follow the signs.

SIX WORKSHOPS8:30 to 9:15 a.m. The Birds of Shreve, by Chuck Jakubchak, Ohio Certified Volunteer NaturalistChuck will preview the birds that you are likely to see when visiting the birding hotspots in Shreve during the Spring Migration Sensation. He will discuss ?uncommon facts about the common birds,? and his presentation includes many beautiful photographs. Take this opportunity to learn more about the birds of Shreve and enjoy the subtle humor that is woven throughout the presentation. This will give you a heads-up on what you might see out in the marsh.

9:30 to 10:15 a.m. This time is reserved for those in attendance to visit one or more of the sites out in the marsh. See the map inside this brochure to find where we have experts with binoculars and scopes set up at four observation areas. Also a dip-net station is set up on Cemetery Road, and a guide is at Brown's Bog. This will also allow time to visit the Birder's Market Place, located in the school gymnasium.

10:30 to 11:15 a.m. 25 Years of Change Observed in the Killbuck Valley, by Kevin Higgins, Ohio Division of WildlifeAs Kevin approaches retirement, he will reflect on the changes he has observed in his last 25 years as area manager at Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area. Land uses, human attitudes and habitat shifts have all contributed to some major changes in wildlife populations and species compositions on both the public-owned wildlife areas and the surrounding private lands and waters. Believe it or not, most wildlife populations and individual species distributions have increased. Some of these increases are due to reintroductions by the Ohio Division of Wildlife (river otter, trumpeter swan and wild turkey), but most are due to the natural ability of many species to adapt and even prosper in our constantly-changing corner of the world.

12:30 to 1:15 p.m. Africa to Killbuck Valley Marsh, by Miles ReedMiles Reed is an award winning natural history filmmaker and the producer of the television series, The Natural World Around Us. His love of nature started as a child being raised on farms and sawmills in Ohio. He spent hours alone in the woods at a very young age. There he learned the patience required to see the unfolding of nature. Now, he still draws upon this skill to film anything from nesting warblers in Ohio to leopards in Africa or even anacondas in the Amazon. He has spent time with headhunters in the Amazon and primitive tribal peoples of Africa. This does not undermine his passion and love for our local flora and fauna. Miles speaks at venues for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, colleges and many environmental groups. Miles will be sharing footage and stories from his adventures. You can see some of his work on the internet at www.milesreed.net.

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Peregrine Falcon, by Chad and Chris SaladinChad Saladin and his wife Chris have been observing peregrine falcons in the wild for over 10 years. During that time, Chad and Chris have been volunteer peregrine nest monitors for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, keeping track of up to eight nest sites in northeastern Ohio. Their monitoring experiences have enabled them to witness the fierce personality, dynamic behavior and life cycle of peregrine falcons, which will be described and presented in this program using their photos and videos. A live peregrine falcon from the Medina Raptor Center will also be on hand, exhibiting the specialized features of this incredible bird of prey.

2:45 to 3:30 p.m. Wild Ohio: The Best of Our Natural Heritage, by Jim McCormac, Division of WildlifeBased on a new book authored by Jim McCormac, with imagery by Gary Meszaros, this program is a photographic journey through the best remaining wild places in the Buckeye State. From southern haunts bordering the Ohio River to lakeshore habitats buffering Lake Erie, Ohio is filled with wild landscapes. We'll look at some of the creatures and plants that make these sites so special and the global role Ohio plays in conservation. After 30 years of observing birds, Jim's Ohio list stands at 356. His book Birds of Ohio is a 360-page illustrated guide published by Lone Pine Publishing Co. in May 2004. Another book, Great Lakes Nature Guide, will be released in spring 2009.

3:45 to 4:30 p.m. Understanding What You See for Better Bird ID, by Kenn KaufmanIdentifying birds isn't just a matter of memorizing all the field marks or knowing what the bird is supposed to look like. Whether you are birding by impression or feather detail, Kenn will help you with a more complete understanding of what you?re seeing and enhance your accuracy at bird identification. You'll want to visit Kenn's website at www.kknature.com/KFGseries.html.

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About Me

I am a lifelong Ohioan who has made a study of natural history since the age of eight or so - longer than I can remember! A fascination with birds has grown into an amazement with all of nature, and an insatiable curiosity to learn more. One of my major ambitions is to get more people interested in nature. The more of us who care, the more likely that our natural world will survive.

About the photos, and permission to use

All photographs on these web pages are the exclusive property of Jim McCormac, and are protected under United States and International copyright laws. The photographs may not be copied, reproduced, stored, distributed or manipulated without written permission. All rights are reserved.

If you contact me requesting free photos, the reply may be long in coming :-)

I've been taking photographs for a few decades, but never became fully interested and engaged in photography until 2003. That's when I got my first digital camera. Since then, photography has become a passion and a steadily growing addiction. If you delve back far enough into this blog, you will see photos that were made with a variety of Panasonic point & shoot bridge cameras. Then came a Canon Rebel DSLR, followed by a Nikon D7000. I've since returned to Canon, and use their gear almost exclusively. My camera bodies are a Canon 5D Mark III, which is an awesome full-frame sensor camera, and a Canon 7D Mark II. The latter is a 1.6 crop factor camera, and I use it almost exclusively for birds and distant wildlife.

The lens bag includes the following Canon lenses: 100mm f/2.8L-macro; the sensational but bizarre MP-E 65 mega-macro; a 180mm f/3.5 macro; a 16-35mm f/4L wide-angle; a 50mm f/1.4; a 100-400 f4.5/5.6 II; and a 500mm f/4L II, sometimes used with a 1.4 extender (which makes it a 700mm). I've also got a Tamron 70-200mm and Sigma 24mm Art (great lenses!). I do lots of macro, and my typical flash gear is the Canon Twin-Lite setup. If the gear needs three-legged stabilization, it is mounted on an Induro tripod, attached to an Induro Gimbal head. Finally, I've got a GoPro Hero, which is fully waterproof and can be used for underwater work. Sometimes I even use the camera or video feature on my iPhone 5S smartphone - it's amazing how good phone cameras have become.

Speaking, guiding gigs 2016

NOTE: Click on listed events for details (inmost cases).

January 16, 2016 - Ohio Ornithological Society's annual winter raptor day at the Wilds, Muskingum County, Ohio. Leading field trip.